


8 Days

by KKaylaKayleb



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Aesop's Fables - Freeform, Extended Metaphors, F/M, Metaphors, Metaphors that got away from me, Worldbuilding, fandom jokes, silly refrences, warned you about those stairs bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-28 15:59:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2738405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KKaylaKayleb/pseuds/KKaylaKayleb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day, while i was caught in my musings on her, i ended up tripping over a mop and falling down the stairs, into the unsuspecting arms of the exact troll who put me in the debacle, both ankles twisted and sentenced to eight days in a four wheel device to heal</p>
            </blockquote>





	8 Days

**Author's Note:**

> Got a request from anon on tumblr. Probably not what you were expecting, but it wasnt what i was expecting either. I still like it though, and i hope you do too.

It was strange spme days to see her puttering around, her eight, bright cerulean eyes glaring at me from around corners as she cleaned around the castle. For all it made a twinge of fear run down my spine and tingle start up in the base of my horns, i continued to watch her when i could.

Coldbloods made ideal family servants, with lives long enough to last through generations of families, from one ruler to the next, they kept well for the Nitrams. She was a servant of my father's, a servant of my brother's, and now, a servant of mine. She had psychic dampeners on her horns, not quite drilled into the bases, but as close as they could get without permanent damage. She preferred long hair, different from most others, and refused to tie it up when she worked. My brother told you that she tried to escape once, but broke her arm badly vaulting over the wall and broke her arm badly, and so was commissioned a special gauntlet that went all the way to her shoulder and down to cover each finger to set the bones. She never fully healed though, so there is a small account set up to add a row of chain mail links to the device when she grows. 

For all she was older than my father, she looked almost my age still. It was a little overwhelming to think about, actually, and i often lost myself in all the things i knew about her, and how there was a part of me that avidly spoke on wanting to know more.

One day, while i was caught in my musings on her, i ended up tripping over a mop and falling down the stairs, into the unsuspecting arms of the exact troll who put me in the debacle, both ankles twisted and sentenced to eight days in a four wheel device to heal. The girl, whose name i learned was Vriska, was positioned to take care of me, since she was, after all, my family's servant.

-

The first day, we did not converse. I was so nervous to speak with her on a personal level, a near crippling stutter clouding any coherent dialogue i hoped to have with unnecessary and ill timed breaks in my speech.

-

The third day, when i did finally manage to string together enough words in comprehensible verse, i lost your eloquence, but gained a valuable (at least to me) bit of personal information.

"V-Vriska, what is your, um, favorite... thing?" I managed, between shuffling and signing paperwork.

She turned to me, and, in a voice that was so thinly veiled with longing and malice both, casually replied, "Pirates."

-

On the fourth day, i asked her to tell me about pirates. My curiosity was breached by the passion she showed when engaged, and i did my best to keep up and absorb her seemingly endless knowledge on seafaring thieves. My castle was too far inland to have any experience with them, and she huffed indignantly at my lack of knowledge, and when she called me out by name, my given name, all drawn out and playful as she chides me not to interrupt, i hardly even noticed.

Needless to say, i was still talking and learning late into the day with her. The conversation drifted some and i kept learning her, all her little details and seeing a side of her that is brilliant and enthusiastic and wildly imaginative. 

Late at night, i asked my most respected castle artist, to draw her the sea and a ship, and to tell no one.

-

The next day i had court in the morning and missed her dearly. But in the afternoon, i met with her in the library, to look for any books on pirates, and ended up pouring over a history scroll instead.

I showed her the Ancestral Era, which is the farthest back in history anyone knew, when the hemocaste was backwards from now, and there was great unrest with all people, ended by the death of one only named The Signless or the Sufferer. The warmbloods took up arms and society moved into the Beforian Era, where coldbloods turned to the idea of lowblood protection and a practice called culling took place to keep those with shorter lifespans from strain. The death of Her Imperious Condescension marked the end of that era; culling was abolished, Fushiabloods went extinct, and the Current Era began, with a Candyblood King of All Lands, (sometimes refereed to as the Candyland Era) and the caste system was transforming into something more based on social and political influence rather than blood color.

She was rapt with attention through my lesson and after, even discussing with you how she had noticed the slow changes, and that she was looking forward to seeing more.

I couldn't get over the excitement of it all and ended up staying with her to talk and teach well after we were supposed to have attend evening meal, and though some of her remarks were surprisingly cruel, she did seem to have a keen eye for tactical advantages.

-

The fifth day, she sat with me in my study as i wrote and responded to letters from other kingdoms, even one from my brother, Rufioh, who traveled south to form an alliance and hopefully trade rights with the Weeaboos under their Burgundyblood queen Damara.

Vriska and i joked about the silly antiquated etiquette trials of diplomatic relations as the day went on, sitting a bit closer, on the same bench even as i showed her the different seals of the five main kingdoms, and the minor states, even the seal from a rare note from Half Sea City, located on the beach and known as a home of many of the remaining Violetbloods.

A few times, i almost reached out to her, but caught myself and fear kept me still for a while longer. It would be inappropriate of me, due to her position and mine; it would be compromising for us both. I was still torn though; i wanted to be closer to her.

-

The sixth day i realized i would soon be allowed my regular walking privileges again, and spent an hour in bed, wondering if i would be able to face it. I knew that after i was released, Vriska would be too, and she would be around much less in everyday life, but i didn't want to let her go. There wasn't much i could do though, short of advancing her position, or releasing her, which would be unwise, since she was likely to leave, an as much as i wanted her happy, there was a very selfish part of me that seemed to be growing of late. It didn't affect any material possession, but it drew me to her, and i wanted to wrap her in arms and keep her.

After court i asked her with me for a stroll in the garden and to the stable, where she seemed content to watch spiders spin their webs instead of the larger animals.

She was sharp and focused on it, and it drew me in as well, and she told me about the story of the beginning her mother told her before she had passed.

"When there was nothing in the beginning," she began, almost far away and dreamy, "there was a big pond of inky blackness, with lots of flies, one frog in the middle on a lily pad, and one spider on the edge.

"The frog, was called Bilius, and he was very hungry, so he began to eat the flies, one by one. The spider on the edge, was a tiny white thing, named Snowman, and she ate the flies too, one by one.

"One day, Snowman realized that there were less flies then there had been, and curious as she was, she strung a web out to see where they were all going, and found Bilius, eating them greedily, almost one after another, and kindly asked him to slow down.

""Why should i?" He asked, swelling his gullet with each fly he ate.

""If you eat all the flies, then there will be none left for me," she said "and already you are swelling from consumption. Soon, you will not even be able to sit on that lily pad, and you will drown."

"Bilius laughed in her face, so Snowman went off, only hoping he would heed her warning, but in a few days something new was wrong. The water in the pond was slowly draining away, so the spider wandered off again to go see Bilius, and found him bent off his lily pad drinking all the water from the pond, his gut distended an blackening with the dark fluid.

"Bilius!" She cried, "why are you drinking the pond?"

"Because if there is no pond, i cannot drown when i eat the flies." He replied, and continued.

"If you drink all the water, the flies will die. If you are so hungry still, eat your pad, and if you are still hungry and you can swim, then you may eat more flies." Snowman scolded him, and went back to her web.

"In a while though, almost all the flies were gone, and she followed the last ones to Bilius, where he was eating still, floating on his back and swelled almost to bursting, but there were colors in him from the pad but he still ate the last fly.

"Bilius, you have eaten everything here! Now we will both die because of your greed." She said, but he only smirked back at her.

"I have not eaten everything, and we both shall not die, because i cannot eat myself and i cannot die, but i can eat you still!" He said, and ate her, but Snowman bit him as he swallowed her, and killed him with her venom.

"She then spent the rest of her life inside him, spending her time sewing the flies into pictures, making the star signs,and collecting the colors to put on her back, making every blood color with her eight eyes and four fangs and left them in the eye of Bilius, to make Alternia."

I was still thinking of her story as i finished my day, and i knew there was more to her than the calloused outside. Before she went away for the night, i let my hand rest on her shoulder briefly, and thanked her for the story, and quickly left, lest i had upset her.

-

The seventh day her painting was finished, and so i brought it down to her block in person, carefully braving the ramps we hardly ever used.

She was surprised to see me, but also glad, and grateful beyond words when i gave her the painting, beside herself as she hugged me without thought, and i returned it.

Surely it was not my imagination that we held longer than was necessary or allowed, willing enough to be close.

She sought me out later, and i welcomed her to my study where she tried to apologize.

It wasn't that i did not accept it, but she never quite seemed to get it out before i forgave her, assuring her it was fine. It was almost like she had never had to apologize before.

She did stay though, though much quieter, more refined. I tried to engage her, but it seemed we had lost time, back to the first days, and my stutter-starts left much to want. At this rate, i would lose her.

"Vriska," i began, "thank you for being here."

I shocked her, i could tell but the light blush on her cheeks spoke enough to draw my honest smile, and hers in return.

I let my worries go, and decided that the next day would be different. If it was really my last day so close, i would make it something special.

-

I kissed her cheek, enough to show red intention, and she ended up pushing me down a small staircase. She was in shock long enough to let me reach the bottom, but i have never known such pity as being pushed as quickly as possible across the castle in my chair.

I broke my legs, which was not the memory i had hoped to create, but Vriska was terribly sorry, and attendant as my legs were reset, braced in metal to heal, like her arm.

She was the first volunteer to be a permanent caretaker, and over the medic's shoulder, we shared a secret smile.

**Author's Note:**

> All crit welcome. And if you want a fic, send me a prompt and pairing on tumblr, same username here and there.


End file.
